We at the Consortium were deeply saddened to hear of the recent passing of Erlene Zierke. We had the pleasure of getting to know Erlene through our relationship with Turner Broadcasting, where she put much energy into launching and developing Super Deluxe.
Some blog readers might have had the chance to meet Erlene at ROFLCon or the first Futures of Entertainment conference here at MIT--and, believe me, you would likely remember Erlene if you ever had the chance to meet her.
Her enthusiasm was unmatched, and she was always offering creative and unique perspective for those of us who had the chance to work with her here at MIT.
Our thoughts are with Erlene's many friends and family. She was an extraordinary individual, and I personally consider it a great privilege to have had the chance to get to know her during her all-too-brief time with us.
I wish I could say that I had something insightful or meaningful and anecdotal to add, but all I can say is that I really felt a strong, instinctive appreciation and fondness for Erlene when I met her.
As Sam has said, she was exceptional, and we were all fortunate to have gotten to know her.
Well said, Sam. She will be dearly missed.
A dedication to Erlene will be running on Adult Swim this Sunday evening after the 10 p.m. EST airing of Family Guy.
Her obituary is here, and you can sign the online guest book in her honor here.
By the way, for more in Erlene's memory, see this Super Deluxe page with video tributes and a Flickr tribute page with many photos.
Also, here's a blog that has been created to collect some of the tributes to Erlene. Her family has also set up a permanent memorial book here.